Shadows of Akatsuki
by Kainui OConnor
Summary: To help carry out his master plan, Madara enlists five new Akatsuki members. But a new mysterious group could threaten the Akatsuki. It's up to Bakiri Hashrirama to stand up to this threat, and save the ninja world, and the one he loves- Ino Yamanaka.
1. The Hunter

It was a quiet night in Sunagakure, as a strange man appeared on a rooftop.

He wore a black, hooded cloak with large red clouds printed on its front and backsides. The man wore a strange mask that seemed to have a line cut through it. On his back was a huge sword wrapped in long, white bandages. Finally, he wore black gloves with sharp knives on each.

On his ear, was an unknown communication device.

"Where are you?"

The noise was a bit ruffled coming from the device.

"I'm in Sunagakure, just as you asked." Said the man. "If I didn't know any better, I would think I was sent here to assassinate the Kazekage." He chuckled.

"Quit fooling around." The noise sounded a bit more irritating than before.

"Calm down, Takane. You and I both know that there is no point in going after the Shukaku after it has already been removed."

"I apologize. After all, the man we're after is dangerous." The man known as Takane said.

"Hmph. Figures. So who are we after, anyway?"

"His name is Gobo. He's a thief that has been accused of robberies and thefts, and, worst of all, dark magic. We have reason to believe that he is planning a robbery of a nearby house."

"'Dark Magic', huh? Sounds dangerous. I'll take care of him."

The man heard a window shatter coming from the house he was standing upon...

"Bingo."


	2. The Transformation

"Crap". A voice said, climbing through a broken window. "This REALLY sucks."

As Gobo tiptoed of what seemed like an eternity of shattered glass, he heard a door creak.

"Oh snap". He said. "I better grab the vase, and quick!"

Gobo ran as fast as he could, stepping on pieces of glass. Though it was painful, he knew he couldn't get caught. Not now, not ever. Gobo had already been caught once before. He was caught performing Dark Magic in front of hobos. They were only hobos, he had thought. How he hated Sunagakure. He had hated it ever since he had to visit the desolate place.

His plan was pretty simple. All he had to do was steal a vase from a local shop. But this was not any vase. It was a vase made by one of the first Kazekage of Sunagakure. It was over thirty years old.

Gobo found himself going up flights of stairs. As he reached the top, he saw the most beautiful vase he had ever seen. He thought he felt a tear slip from his eye.

"Hello beautiful. Come to papa!" He said, just inches away from the prized vase.

But before he could touch it, a voice came from a nearby window.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"What? Not you again!"

Gobo had heard of this man. He was known for stopping criminals like him. He must have been the one who was on the rooftop.

"Well, well." Said Gobo. "If it isn't Bakiri."

"I'm surprised that you know who I am." He said in a deep voice.

He grabbed the handle of the wrapped sword on his back. When he grabbed it, a strange black mist seemed to shroud the sword. In an instant, the sword transformed into a three-bladed scythe, blood red.

Gobo gulped. "Of course I know who you are. Everyone does. So, I see your using HIS form this time."

"Yes. I use this form for, how you say, 'special cases.'"

His voice seemed to grow less deep with every word. He let out a menacing laugh.

"I don't believe in any gods that bring down pain or misery, but this form just seems to scream 'I'm going to kill your ass.'"

As his voice was at its final pitch, his entire body started to change. He grew a bit shorter than before, and his mask and hood were gone. Instead he had dashing white hair and dark purple eyes. His coat was the same as before, only opened slightly, revealing a necklace with a symbol attached. The symbol looked like a pentagram, only with a triangle in the middle.

As the changing finally stopped, he let out a bone-chattering laugh.

"TIME TO DIE."


	3. The Arrest

Gobo was frightened by the sight of the man.

He had the form of Hidan, one of the Akatsuki. Hidan was an immortal member, who beleived in the god Jashin. Hidan slaughtered and killed many to please Jashin. He was known for performing curses by drawing the symbol of Jashin in the dirt with is own blood. And, upon tasting the blood of his opponent, he is able to cause pain to his opponent by causing pain to himself.

However, Hidan was defeated by Kakashi Hatake and Team 10 of Konohagakure, but mostly by a child named Shikamaru Nara. It took someone as smart as Shikamaru to take down Hidan. But this WASN'T Hidan. It was a form of him.

Gobo shook his head in disbelief.

"NO!" He shouted. "There is no way that I am being caught by the likes of you! You think your'e so scary! Taking the form of someone who slaughters his victims just to please some god! I'm not scared of you! HA! Only a fool what be frightened of someone like you! No way!"

"Tough talk for a fool." Bakiri said in his Hidan form.

"Grrr. That's it! I'm going to DESTROY you! I'll make sure everyone in Sunagakure- no! Everyone in the ENTIRE NINJA WORLD will know the wrath of Gobo Yakushi! THE most cunning bandit of Otogakure!"

As Gobo charged at Bakiri, Bakiri dodged just as Gobo was about to strike. Instead, Gobo crashed through the window that was behind Bakiri.

Gobo had forgotten that he was at the top floor of the shop. He fell about two stories and landed flat on his face. As he lifted his head up, he noticed blood on the ground.

"That's strange..." He thought.

The sickly-sweet taste of blood filled his mouth.

"Oh-no."

Gobo realized that the Three-bladed scythe that Bakiri had had now peirced his chest. Gobo coughed blood. Not only had the scythe peirced his chest, but it impaled him entierly. The tips of the scythe dug into the ground and, of course, his flesh. Gobo suddendly felt himself being lifted into the air.

Hidan's three-bladed scythe had a strong wire attached to it, capable of lifting heavy items off of the ground. As he was lifted to the window, he heard a menacing laugh coming from Bakiri.

"Foolish move, Gobo." He said.

Next thing Gobo new, his neck was in the clutches of Bakiri's hand.

As Gobo slipped in and out of consciousness, he felt the blood draining from his body. He stared into the eyes of Bakiri's Hidan form. He saw anger. Despair. As Bakiri reverted back to his normal form, Gobo saw something that he least expected to see in the eyes of Bakiri.

Love.

But this love was not for him, but for someone else. The Dark Magic inside Gobo gave him the ability to see ones thoughts. What he saw was... romantic.

He saw a young girl with long, blond hair. Part of her hair was tied, while she had a bang of hair covering her right eye. She was from Konohagakure. She wore purple clothing and was a medical ninja.

"Who was she?" Gobo thought.

That was his last thought. Gobo had finally died. All of the people he had killed, all of the women he had sexualy assaulted, everything that he had stolen was now but a memory to those who knew the name... "Gobo Yakushi."

Bakiri stared at the dead man. He died with an irritated look, but he knew that something made him smile. What was it? He turned on his communication device.

"Takane. Gobo is dead. I will bring you the body."

"Good." Takane said.

"You feeling alright? You sound different."

"Oh, I'm fine. JUST fine."

Bakiri walked out of Sunagakure with Gobo's dead body. He could smell the rotting flesh. The carnage sometimes sickened Bakiri. But he had to live with it. He had to live with everything before he could return to whom he loved...

"Ino... I'm coming..." He whispered.


	4. The Interrogations

A huge field stood, shrouded in mist.

Two men stood facing each other. One man wore a cap, a headband of Konohagakure sewn on the front. He wore an open black jacket, and scars were on his face. He was a well-known interrogator.

The other man wore what seemed to be a gray vest. His hair was messy and untidy. He wore a headband with the symbol of Takigakure. He was a well-known bounty hunter and investigator.

Both men stared at each other with unblinking eyes. As grass blew in the wind, one man finally spoke in the mist.

"Takane! I'm tired of your games! Where is he?"

"How many times do I have to tell you? I won't talk!" Said the other man.

"You will by the time I'm done with you!"

The Takane man slowly retrieved a kunai out of his pocket and, as hard as he could, flung it in the other man's direction. The kunai flew at blistering speed, but the man pulled out a simple cooking knife and blocked the kunai. Before Takane could react, the man was inches in front of him in an instant.

"I'll finish this here!" He shouted.

"Don't!"

"You're to dangerous to stay alive! I'll find Idate myself if I have to!"

As the man brought the knife to Takane's chest, Takane yelled as loud as he could.

"IBIKI! NO!"

Takane awoke.

He was tied up in strong rope. He looked around him. He saw everything that he had seen before. The jail cell he was in, the leather bed that he had been sleeping in, and the powerful jonin guarding his cell.

"Hey!" Said the guard. "Keep it down in there!"

Takane was irritated. First, he was giving orders to some teenager from the Akatsuki. One minute later, he's captured by Konoha ninja and thrown into a jail cell. His life had changed so quickly ever since he became a stupid bounty hunter.

His mother wanted him to become a dentist.

"You should become someone who would help the world." She would say. "Dental Hygiene is the first step to a healthy lifestyle."

Takane did not want some lame job pulling out teeth. He wanted to be a known killer. He wanted to show his true power to the world. Then all would know him. But all that he's known for now is-

"The Captor of the Morino Clan."

After a long hour of sitting in his bed and thinking of how his life turned, his guard finally spoke.

"Alright, SCUM. Looks like it's your turn." He said. "Seriously. I would rather be watching some lame show like "Hero 108," or "Dude, What Would Happen?" right now, but I have to escort lamos like you."

How Takane hated his guard. His guard was a bossy, mean, stuck-up idiot who only cared about making life worse. No wonder he was hired as a jail guard.

As Takane was entered into the interrogating room, his eyes widened. In that room was none other than Ibiki Morino.

"Crap..."

"Well would you look what the cat dragged in and pissed all over." Said Ibiki.

"Shut up you douche bag."

Ibiki pounded the wall next to him so hard that Takane swore he heard it crack.

"You better listen and listen good. I've just had to interrogate another Bounty Hunter who was with some Akatsuki named Kakuzu. You having ties to the Akatsuki pisses me off even more."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Don't play dumb. Some of our strongest jonin have ransacked your hideout. It's just a matter of time before that Akatsuki Member will be captured and killed by yours truly."

"No."

"WHAT?"

"There is no way that you can capture him." Takane's voice had a very serious tone. "This man is not normal. He can rip your entire village to shreds. Your men wont even hive time to breathe."

Ibiki leaned in closer to Takane with a disgusting looking smirk on his face.

"Wanna bet?" He whispered.

As Bakiri came to the sewer hideout to drop off Gobo's body, he sensed something strange in his mind. Something was wrong. He wanted to put that aside for now and ignore it until the time came.

Bakiri removed the cover of the sewer drain and jumped in. He stared at the running water in the sewer for so long that he wanted to vomit. As he entered the room where Takane was stationed, he saw Takane standing still.

"Good. You've returned. And you've brought the body." He said.

"Yeah..." Said Bakiri. "Where's the money?"

Takane handed a gray suitcase to Bakiri. Bakiri opened the suitcase and proceeded to count the money. He turned every dollar to make sure it wasn't fake. Meanwhile, Takane stared at Bakiri, wondering when he would leave. Bakiri turned for the door, but stopped in his tracks.

Takane looked behind him, only to see Bakiri with a sword right in front of his throat.

"Hello, Izumo-sama." He said.


	5. The Teacher

"Life treating you well?" Said Bakiri to Izumo.

"How did you know who I was?" Said Izumo.

"I know a lot of things. I know that before I got here, you guys ransacked the place and captured Takane for interrogation. I also know that there are three other ninja here besides you who are hiding as we speak."

"Izumo!"

Three other ninja appeared out their hiding places.

"Hmph. How pitiful." Said Bakiri. "As leaf ninja, I would expect you to use more 'secretive' tactics.'"

"Don't underestimate us, Akatsuki!" Said Izumo. "We still have a few tricks up our sleeve!"

The four ninja turned into puffs of smoke. Suddenly, the entire base shook. In a matter of seconds, the entire sewer had exploded. Before Izumo and his squad had ransacked Takane's hideout, they littered the base with paper bombs. Knowing that the paper bombs would detonate inside the area, the entire sewer would be caught in the explosion. There was no way that Bakiri would survive, they had thought.

They were wrong.

Izumo and his squad waited patiently outside of the sewer entrance until it was safe. But what they saw was something different. The sewer cover popped open, and a shadow flew out of the hole.

Bakiri had survived the explosion.

Bakiri landed about a yard away from the sewer hole as the entire sewer burst into flames. Izumo and his squad were long gone by the time the saw Bakiri. Izumo contacted Ibiki on his communication device.

"This is squad leader Izumo. The mission has failed. We are returning to the base as we speak."

As Izumo hopped from tree to tree, a light bulb seemed to flash in his mind.

He knew who the man was.

He remembered being involved with a strange mission during his times in the Anbu. Apparently, a group known as the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist infiltrated the Hashirama clan. They had slaughtered the entire village, except for a young boy. Izumo was assigned to find the missing boy and bring him to safety.

As Izumo entered the village, he was disgusted. The entire area looked like it had been struck by a tornado. As he walked around houses, he could smell the horrible odor of rotting flesh. How could anyone have survived such a fate?

Suddenly, Izumo heard whimpering coming from a nearby alley. As he entered it, he saw a young boy, his eyes red from tears. He noticed that his clothes were completely disheveled. He crouched down next to the boy to show that he meant no harm.

"Hey," He said, "are you okay?"

The boy looked around 9 to 10 years of age. As the boy looked up at this man, he noticed he was wearing a Konohagakure headband. Knowing that the man was there to help him, the boy gave Izumo a barely visible nod. Thankfully, it was just enough to assure Izumo that he was fine.

"I take it your parent's are gone, huh?"

The boy nodded again.

"What's your name?"

It was a long pause before the boy spoke again. Izumo didn't blame him. He knew that the boy was probably devastated by knowing what happened to his parents.

"My name... is Baraki." Said the boy.

"I see. My name is Izumo."

Izumo was very surprised to see that "Baraki" was cooperating easily. Usually the young are too afraid to speak to others after tragic moments. Even the older ones are speechless as well. What Izumo did not know is how his parents died. Baraki's parents were not only decapitated, but they had their arms and legs cut off, even though they were still alive. Not only that, but the killer had the nerve to do it right in front of Baraki.

"Hey! Let's kill the boy!" The killer said.

As he brought down his giant blade towards Baraki's leg, a gigantic, blue hand grabbed the killer's arm.

"Suigetsu. That's enough."

"What? Kisame-senpai! We could slaughter him right now!"

"No. We've done enough to his loved ones. He's just a boy. What harm could he cause?"

With a disgusted look on his face, Suigetsu lifted his blade from Baraki. Then, with a smirk, he said-

"I'm going to finish the job someday."

As the two men walked out of the alley, tears welled in Baraki's eyes. He was alive. He wanted to see the "Kisame" man again someday. And someday, HE would finish the job.

By the time Izumo had brought Baraki back, he was promoted to Jonin. Izumo taught the boy how to defend himself, he enrolled him in the ninja academy. He was not only with ordinary classmates, but with Naruto as well. And there, he met the most beautiful girl that he had ever laid his eyes upon. One day, he would win her heart over.

As Izumo had finished his memory, tears welled up in his eyes. He would find Baraki. He would bring him home. He promised that in his mind.

As Bakiri walked out of the town that the sewer hideout was once hidden, he found himself walking in a dark, mysterious forest. As he walked along, he heard a strange growling noise ahead.

As he followed the noise, it grew louder and louder with each step. He walked toward the spot where the growling originated from. There he saw a wolf. The wolf looked strangely familiar to him. He leaned in closer to the wolf. It growled a little, but hesitated. He let his hand out for the wolf to sniff it. The wolf growled again.

Under his mask, Bakiri smiled. He knew who she was. The wolf seemed to transform. Bakiri waited patiently for the wolf to finish her little transformation. The wolf turned into a young girl, wearing the same cloak as he.

"Hello, Bakiri." She said.

"Ah, Yuki! You have returned."


	6. The Conflict

"I'm serious," said Yuki, "was holding out your palm for me to sniff really necessary?"

Bakiri was annoyed. He already had a rough day as it is, having to kill a thief in Sunagakure, then meeting up with his old teacher who wanted to kill him. He did not wish to deal with complaints. But he knew it had to be done.

Bakiri had known Yuki for about a month or two. When Madara recruited her from Konohagakure, he had immediately assigned her to be Bakiri's partner. That was the one thing that Bakiri did not understand. Bakiri did not require a partner to help with his missions. He was stronger without someone to worry about. But he had to deal with Madara's choice anyway.

After about a minute of walking, Bakiri finally spoke.

"I held out my palm for you to sniff so I knew it was you."

"Oh, don't give me that bull. You and I both know that you can tell who I am, regardless of what form I'm in."

Bakiri had to admit she was correct. Yuki was the only wolf he knew who had hair over her right eye.

"True" was all he said.

As they hopped from tree to tree, Bakiri sensed something. Yuki knew that something was amiss.

"What is it?" She said. "I can pickup on his scent, but I can't tell who or what it is."

The knife on Bakiri's hand quickly extended into a sword.

"It's him."

"You don't mean..."

"Suigetsu. Yes."

As Bakiri and Yuki finished dashing through the forest, they came upon a dead corpse.

"Gross!" Exclaimed Yuki. "What do you think happened to him?"

Bakiri examined the corpse. He was missing his arms, legs, and most of all, his head. Bakiri picked up a bloody headband. It had the symbol of Kirigakure on it.

"Obviously, this man has been killed by Suigetsu." He said.

"Well duh, but, why someone from the Mist Village?" Asked Yuki.

"I suspect that Suigetsu killed this man thinking it was Kisame. After finding out his mistake, he cut off his limbs and his head. The blood is still wet. Thankfully, the man seems to have died without feeling much pain. However, I think Suigetsu is near."

"He is. I can sense him from here."

As Bakiri and Yuki jumped through the forest, they came upon a clearing. There they saw Suigetsu.

"So, you picked up on my scent, huh?" Said Suigetsu.

"Pretty smart of you," said Yuki, "to douse the corpse with your scent to lead us away. Too bad it failed."

"Oh, I don't think so."

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Juugo came down from the air. The punch was so powerful; a huge explosion could be seen.

Bakiri ran out of the smoke, his sword extended. He tried to stab Suigetsu with his sword, but because he was made out of water, it simply went right through him.

Bakiri quickly charged a lightning blade in his other palm and grabbed Suigetsu's neck, shocking him. As Suigetsu screamed in pain, Bakiri grabbed the top of his head and slammed is face into the ground. Bakiri then charged a beam in his hand and fired toward the ground, creating a large explosion.

Meanwhile, Juugo transformed and charged at Yuki. Yuki jumped around Juugo, pulled out a dual sword and stabbed him in the chest. However, Juugo was able to survive the attack and swat Yuki away with his arm.

Suigetsu quickly retreated back to Juugo.

"They're tough." Suigetsu said, panting.

"I think it's time for us to go. We need to find Sasuke." Said Juugo.

"They're retreating! I wont let them!" Shouted Yuki.

"Let them go," said Bakiri.

But Yuki simply ignored him. She jumped right behind them, and without a word, grabbed Suigetsu and Juugo by their throats. Juugo and Suigetsu chocked, but Yuki only added more pressure.

"Where's my brother!"


	7. The Foreshadowing

A strange man dressed in a black cloak entered a dark cave. He climbed down a ladder that went about ten feet. At the bottom of the ladder was a chamber. In the chamber were eight figures, one hanging upside down from the ceiling, others sitting on the countless stalagmites in the cavern.

"Rikugun. You've returned. Where is Gobo?" Asked one figure.

Rikugun seemed to shiver in the figure's presence.

"Lord Sukeruton. I have terrible news. Gobo has been killed."

"What a shame. I was hoping I would be the one who would kill him." Spoke one figure. He had a deformed voice.

"Ssssssemsss that Gobo issssn't asss sssstrong assss he thought." Hissed another.

The figure known as Sukeruton thought for a moment. "Well," he said, "We're going to have to find the one who killed Gobo. Rikugun. I'm partnering you up with Kyūketsuki for now.

The figure hanging on the ceiling jumped down. He licked his lips. "I can't wait to find the one who killed him." He said. "I'm thirsty for blood. Don't slow me down."

Rikugun looked back at Sukeruton. "And if any innocent intervene, my lord?"

A smirk formed on Sukeruton's face. "Crush them." He said. "Crush them all."

Yuki added more pressure to Suigetsu and Juugo's necks.

"Alright!" She said. "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way! Where's my brother?"

Suigetsu coughed. "W-we don't know! Honest!"

Juugo spoke. "He's telling the truth! He said something about fighting Danzou, and that's the last we heard from him!"

"Yuki. Juugo is correct. They're telling the truth." Said Bakiri. "Let them go."

Yuki sighed. "Fine." She let go of both Suigetsu and Juugo's necks. "Get out of here. I'm tired of you two."

Suigetsu smirked. "No wonder why Madara is so interested in you. You're Sasuke and Itachi's sister."

In anger, Yuki slammed the ground with her fist. "You shut up!" She shouted. "I said get lost!"

Bakiri walked up to the two men. "I suggest you do what she says, unless you want to die."

Suigetsu gulped. "Ok, ok. We're leaving. But we'll be back." The two men disappeared into clouds of smoke.

"Don't worry." Said Baraki. "We'll find Sasuke. I promise. Now let's go. It's getting late."

"Ok." Said Yuki.

Unbeknownst to Yuki and Baraki, they were being watched.

Kyūketsuki smiled. "So. It was the Akatsuki who killed him. Never thought they could pull it off. Gobo was stupid, though." Kyūketsuki jumped from his perch and his arms turned into giant bat-like wings. "I'd better head back to Rikugun." He flew off toward Otogakure.

Bakiri was lost in thought while he and Yuki headed twoard Konohagakure. Yuki noticed he was acting strange.

"Is everything ok?" She asked. "You're acting a bit strange lately."

"I've been thinking." Said Baraki. "I think it's time."

"What? Already?"

"Yes. I've left her for three years now. I must return."

"For good? Are you staying this time?"

"No." Bakiri stopped in his tracks. "I have something better in mind."

The two came upon a flower garden near the village.

"Wait here." Said Bakiri. He walked through the small flower garden, and came upon a young girl with blonde hair. The girl turned around to face Bakiri. She was frightened.

"Ino-chan. it's ok."

"H-how do you know who I am?" She asked.

Bakiri removed his mask. Underneath was a smile. Tears welled up in Ino's eyes.

"B-Baraki-kun?"

"Yes."

Ino ran up to Bakiri, crying, and kissed him. "I... I can't believe it's you. After three whole years. I thought you were dead!"

"I know. I thought I wouldn't have made it either. But I'm not staying here."

"What? Why not?"

"I'm taking you with me. I'm going to train you for six months."

Ino was confused. "Train me? For what purpose?"

Bakiri pulled out a summoning scroll. The scroll turned into a neatly folded Akatsuki Cloak. Bakiri had a more serious look on his face.

"It's time." He said. "Time for you to come with me."

Rikugun sat in a tall tree near Otogakure. He had just finished ransacking Gobo's house. Suddenly, a bat flew up near his face.

"Vermin." He said. He drew a kunai and threw it at the bat. The bat was impaled against a tree trunk.

A dark figure came up next to Rikugun. "You shouldn't treat bats like that. They might get angry."

It was Kyūketsuki. "I've found out who killed Gobo. It was Akatsuki."

"So," said Rikugun, "They've returned as well. What now?"

"We kill them."


	8. The Preparing

It was a while before Ino spoke.

Finally she said- "You want me to join Akatsuki. The same group that not only killed Asuma-sensei, but destroyed Konohagakure. You've changed, Baraki. Too much for me to handle."

Bakiri lowered his head a bit. "I was expecting this sort of response from you." He replied. "But there is something important that we must do. Someone has been planning behind your backs longer than Madara or Pain."

"Who?"  
"The Gyakusatsu. A time before the Third Great Shinobi World War, there was a powerful ninja from Hoshigakure. He was almost completely loyal to his homeland, and never failed a mission. He was also the one who assisted in preserving the comet that landed in the village 200 years ago. His name... was Sukeruton." Ino leaned in closer to hear the rest of Bakiri's story.

"Sukeruton was so involved with his village, that he was one of the three candidates to be elected Hoshikage. One other candidate was unknown, while the other was named Obake. Obake had a special power. He was able to come in contact with the dead. Knowing that he would be an obstacle, Sukeruton challenged Obake to a fight to the death. Obake had the advantage, and was able to cut off both of Sukeruton's arms. In anger, Sukeruton used a forbidden jutsu- one that would allow him to control the position of stars. He used smaller stars to repair his arms, while he forced the great stars to fall on Obake. Obake was in critical condition, and almost died. Sukeruton thought that he would become Hoshikage, but his fight was caught by a spy. Sukeruton was banished from Hoshigakure, while Obake was placed in a hospital. The third candidate became Hoshikage. During his banishment, Sukeruton traveled through each village, gathering more and more banished ninja. He then created the Clan of Massacre, or the Gyakusatsu. He has been plotting to rule the ninja world, and the Fourth Great Shinobi World War is the perfect time to do it."

"But, why is he after you?"  
"It seems that I assassinated a weaker member of the Gyakusatsu. They must be coming back for revenge."  
"That I understand. But what I don't get is why you need me. What can I do? I've been nothing of a burden. When Hidan and Kakuzu fought Kakashi-sensei, all I could do was sit back and watch."  
"I need you because you have a power that no one else has. I can teach you. Just like Chiriku taught me... before he was killed."  
"This... power I have... what is it?"  
"I will teach it to you."  
"But, six whole months? Will that be enough?"  
"If I teach you, it will be. I promise you that."  
Bakiri walked up to Ino and kissed her neck.  
"I love you, Ino. I'll make sure that nothing happens to you. Ever."  
"Ok." Ino held her hand out to Bakiri. "I'll go with you."

The sun began to set as Bakiri and Ino set out of the village.

Kyūketsuki walked along a dirt road, and came upon a dark shadow. He stared at it blankly, then rested on his right knee.

"Lord Sukeruton. Why have you called me?" He said.  
"I have found the location of the one who killed Gobo." The shadow replied.  
"Excellent! Now I can annihilate the brat!"  
"NO. I do not want you fighting him. Not yet. You will wait for a total of seven months."  
Kyūketsuki was dumbfounded. "Seven months? Why the hell would I wait that long?"  
"ONE, BECAUSE I SAID SO. "Two, because we need patience. The child is probably expecting us right now. We need to hit him when he least expects it."  
"Alright. Fine. I'll train for six months. Your little 'theory' better be correct."  
"Good. Now, we wait. Inform Rikugun. I don't want to take anything from him right now, either."

In anger, Kyūketsuki flew off down the dirt road, toward Sunagakure. If he couldn't go after the Akatsuki, then there's one person that he could quench his thirst for blood.

-

Months had gone by as Bakiri trained Ino. The two fought valiantly, attacking bandit camps and disposing criminals. Bakiri taught Ino new techniques, techniques that Ino had never even heard off. After five months of training, Ino was able to take down an entire bandit camp within a quarter of an hour. Her new prowess allowed her to reach new heights; her challenges were completed perfectly. After the final month of training, Bakiri walked up to Ino.

"It's time." He said. "I have been waiting for this moment for so long." He handed Ino the Akatsuki Cloak. It's light red clouds glistened in the moonlight.  
"Thank you, Baraki-kun." She slipped the cloak on. "It fits well. Where to next?"

Bakiri was fiddling with his communication device. Yuki's voice was heard from the device.

"Well, well. Looks like we have a Gyakusatsu on his way. You ready for this, Ino?"

Ino closed her eyes and stared up into the moonlight. She thought about leaving. She knew that tough battles would be ahead. She knew that she might not come back alive. Everything could be crushed by one, fatal blow.

Ino opened her eyes and lowered her head. She smirked.

"Let's jam."


	9. The Ressurections

Rikugun sat on a large branch of a gigantic tree. As he thought, he could sense chakras. He knew that they were approaching. Rikugun jumped from his perch and landed softly on the ground.

_It's time._

As Rikugun started to create strange signs with his hands, two dark circles formed before him. As the edges of the two circles began to flash, two dark figures rose from the darkness. They both wore Takatsuki cloaks. It was Kakuzu and Hidan.

"What? Where in Jashin am I?" Yelled Hidan.

Rikugun calmed his nerves. He hated having to explain orders.

"The two of you have been resurrected by me."  
Kakuzu spoke. "A forbidden jutsu? Impressive."  
"What do you mean, 'impressive?'" said Hidan. "More like creepy."

Rikugun was annoyed. "FINE! Creepy, whatever. Kakuzu, I need you to stay put. Hidan, run from this area as fast as you can."

"And why exactly would I do that? You think I'm not powerful enough to handle this on my own?"  
"No. I want you to lead one of our enemies that are approaching in the other direction. Kakuzu here will take on the other two."  
"Alright, fine. But if I go down, Jashin WILL punish your ass!"

Hidan ran off, disgusted.

Rikugun looked back at Kakuzu. "I didn't want to say this in front of your partner. He asks to many questions. I resurrected the two of you from your graves. You were killed by Kakashi, while your buddy down there was buried alive and soon died due to lack of nutrients."

"I understand," said Kakuzu, "but what I really want to know is who we're fighting, and what's in it for me if we win?"  
"First of all, I have no idea who your opponents will be. Hidan will be fighting someone who we are trying to 'exact our revenge on.' If you are victorious, then I shall give you 60% of the bounty on our opponent's heads."  
"And where will you be during all of this?"  
"Somewhere else. If you guys don't make it, I'll know."

Rikugun disappeared in a cloud of ash.

Kakuzu didn't care who he was fighting. He could kill anyone at this point. He moved his arms and legs. All of his joints were healed. As long as he got his share of the bounty, he would do anything.

******************************************

Bakiri, Ino and Yuki hopped through the trees.

"I'm picking something up." Yuki suddenly said. "There are two of them. One is stationary while the other is on the run."  
"And who might they be?" Asked Bakiri.  
"Hidan and Kakuzu. Kakuzu is staying put, and Hidan is running. What a coward."  
"No. That's not it. He wants me to fight Hidan, thinking that he's the strongest, while the two of you get owned by Kakuzu."  
"So, what now?" Asked Ino.  
"Ok. Listen _very_ carefully. I need the two of you to work _together_ do defeat Kakuzu."

Ino had a disgusted look on her face. She didn't like working with Yuki. It wasn't fair that _her_ Baraki-kun was spending years with some girl that he barely even knew. But Madara paired them up together for a reason.

And she was forced to live with it.

******************************************

Hidan ran through the forest as fast as he could.

_Damn that asshole, excluding me from all the action. His plan better work, or I'll slaughter him._

Hidan turned around abruptly, and a kunai flew in his direction. Hidan pulled out his large, three-bladed scythe and blocked the knife. The kunai fell to the floor. Hidan then realized that a small, blue orb was attached to it.

_Aw shit!_

Large ice spikes shot out of the ground. Hidan was barely able to dodge by jumping backwards. Suddenly, even more kunai flew at him. Hidan wasted a ton of his energy dodging the spikes, so by the time the kunai stopped swarming, he was exhausted.

_What the hell was that?_

Then, without warning, Bakiri quickly shot through the forest and gave Hidan a swift uppercut. Hidan hit the ground hard.

"Ah, what the shit man?"  
"Tsk. I barely even touched you. How pathetic."

In anger, Hidan quickly lashed out at Bakiri with his scythe. As he swung left and right, Bakiri was easily able to dodge every strike. Hidan then shot his scythe forward, but Bakiri quickly drew his sword and blocked the attack. As Hidan flew towards Bakiri by using the cable on his scythe, Bakiri quickly held his palm out.

_Dark Release! Dākushunaidā!_

Hidan tried his best to dodge them beam that shot out of Bakiri's palm by trying to move out of the way. Though it barely missed his head, the beam completely destroyed his left ear. Hidan fell to the ground in pain.

_Ice Prison Technique!_

A wall of ice quickly engulfed Hidan. Bakiri chuckled as he approached the wall.

"That was too easy. I would expect a bit more from an immortal."

Bakiri snapped his fingers, and the surrounding area was quickly vaporized.

_I hope that Ino and Yuki are doing ok._

Ino and Yuki stood twenty feet away from Kakuzu. He had already released four of his five hearts, one of which was destroyed. Yuki and Ino looked at each other.

"You remember the plan, right?"  
"Right."

"Hm. Whatever 'plan' you two ladies are coming up with, it'll prove to be useless." Gloated Kakuzu. He pointed at Ino. "I have to admit, you have grown stronger since your last battle."

Ino smirked. She slipped a violet pole from her sleeve to her hand, and charged at Kakuzu. She swung it towards his neck, and he ducked. He then swung his leg and tried to trip her. She sidestepped, and as hard as she could, gave a strong whack to Kakuzu's head. Kakuzu was able to harden his skin, so the attack did little damage.

_Gotcha!_

Suddenly, the top of the pole that Ino was holding snapped off, revealing a large claw attached to a wire. The claw grabbed Kakuzu's torso, and emitted an electric shock. Kakuzu screamed in pain, while Ino slipped behind him and opened the top of the other end of the pole, revealing a blade. She stabbed it into one of Kakuzu's hearts. She then nodded to Yuki, who began to charge at Kakuzu.

Trying to protect him, Kakuzu's wind heart flew towards Yuki, and began to charge an attack. Anticipating the attack from the start, she jumped to battle the creature.

_Hitori!_

Yuki's fingertips ignited, and she dug the deep into the wind heart's mask. The heart dropped to the ground and died.

Enraged, Kakuzu's fire and lightning hearts teamed up to attack Yuki. Ino quickly pulled her pole out of Kakuzu's heart and held both of her palms out towards the hearts.

_Water Release! Osoroshii kyūryūI_

Two balls of energy formed in Ino's palms. She fired them at the hearts. The two beams seemed to cross, then separate again. When the beams hit, both hearts were vaporized in the explosion. Ino walked over to Kakuzu, who was left half-dead on the ground.

"I-impossible... No one... could have... defeated me... so easily..."

Ino started at Kakuzu's body, motionless. After about a minute, she fake-grimaced.

"Guess you just weren't strong enough, _little tart._

Ino stabbed her blade into Kakuzu's heart, ending his life in one, final blow.


	10. The Confrontation

Three shadows stood over the Five Kage Summit in Konohagakure. One was a man with spiky hair, a headband with a slashed symbol of Kumogakure around his neck. Another hailed from Hoshigakure. He wore a japanese oni mask. The other shadow was a woman with long black hair. She wore a slashed headband with the symbol of Getsugakure. As they stepped out of the shadows, their Akatsuki cloaks were revealed.

"So, how are we obtaining the target?" Asked the woman.

"Simple." Said the masked man. "We need Zuguri here to sneak in."

"Always 'simple' plans huh?" Asked Zuguri. He gave the masked man two thumbs up and winked. "Heh! Piece of cake!"

_Light Release! Kyōretsu na hikari!_

A blinding light surrounded Zuguri, and in a few seconds, he seemed to have disappeared with the flash. But in actuallity, the light was simply hiding him. The disguised Zuguri jumped down to a Dango shop yards away. He carefully looked inside. He saw two ninja, sitting at a table. One of them was stuffing his face.

_Yeesh! What a fatass!_

He listened in on their conversation.

"Jeez. Having to go out looking for Ino is such a drag!" Said one ninja, yawning.

"We have to," said the one stuffing his face. "Lady Tsunade said that Ino might be in trouble."  
"Ugh. Women are _so_ troublesome..."

Zuguri raised an eyebrow.

_Ino? The newbie? I better tell Bakiri what's up when I'm finished._

Zuguri eventually came up to the Konohagakure jail. He walked over to the two guards and swiftly knocked them out. He gave the others the signal, and they came quickly.

"Tenshi! Obake! Looks like it's your time to shine."

The woman known as Tenshi pulled a sword out of it's sheath and held it firmly in both hands.

_Moon Release! Getsumen shokku!_

Tenshi's sword glowed with silver energy. Tenshi jumped high into the air, and with a swift slash, cut down a large door in front of her. Tenshi landed, concealing the sword in it's sheath.

"Obake! Go!"

Obake quickly dashed through the gigantic prison, and sprinted down a hallway. He stopped suddenly and looked to his left. He knocked on the steel bars of a jail cell. A dark shadow crawled out from a corner. It was Takane.

"Whaddya want? Haven't you done enough to me alrea-" The man gazed up at Obake's cloak. "So, _he_ sent you to rescue me, didn't he?"

"Yeah." Obake replied. "He specifically told me to pick you up as soon as possible." He pulled out a set of keys that one of the knocked out guards was holding and unlocked the cell door.

"Alrgiht. Get your ass out here."  
"Oh, I'm sorry. I guess I'm just a little tired from _getting the shit beaten out of me!_"

Obake was forced to carry Takane on his back. As he, Tenshi, Zuguri raced through the trees, Obake sensed something. A rumbling was heared behind them.

_Meiton! Kurai suihō-fū!_

A dark wind sweeped through the forest after the quartet, cutting trees in it's path. Obake quickly stopped on a branch and formed hand signs.

_Meiton! Kurai sākasu!_

Streaks of drakness engulfed the quartet and countered the blistering wind. Tenshi looked back at the forest. It was gone. Thankfully, they were miles away from any civilization. As the smoke cleared, a dark figure jumped from a large branch sticking out of the ground. As he landed, two gigantic wings came out from his back.

"Hello there."

Tenshi smirked. "Kyūketsuki. We were expecting you. Sucked any good blood lately?"  
"Yeah, from your mom."  
"My mother is dead."  
"Exactly, princess."

Tenshi tried to control her anger. Obake placed a hand on her shoulder. "Calm yourself." He said. "He's trying to irritate you." He turned to Kyūketsuki. "All joking aside, what are you _really_ here for?"

Kyūketsuki placed the dead body of Sunagakure ninja in front of him. The body was old and withered.

"This ninja here is the one of the advisors to the Kazekage. He was looking for revenge, and I took him 'under my wing'. No pun intended." Kyūketsuki chuckled. "After learning about what powerful ninjutsu that he learned, I killed him. That's how you were hit by that attack earlier."

"I don't get it." Whispered Zuguri to Tenshi. "What does he mean?"

Tenshi closed her eyes.

"A very long time ago, an old dying mother gave birth to a baby boy in Sunagakure. The boy was completely deformed. His drunken father knew that he could not take care of the boy on his own, so he left him alone in a dark cave, thinking that it would be easier for him. Inside of the cave were vampire bats, somehow filled with chakra. They saw the deformed infant and felt sorry for him. They then lunged their fangs into the boy, not sucking his blood, but giving him their chakra. The chakra completely healed his deformity, and gave him strange powers."

Kyūketsuki laughed. "Not only that, but I slaughtered my father when I returned home. Serves the idiot right. Those bats were grateful enough to give me the ability to suck chakra out of my opponent, and use their jutsu as my own. Pretty clever, huh?"

The others drew a blank.

Annoyed, Tenshi drew her sword and charged at Kyūketsuki. Kyūketsuki simply stood still, parried his wing, and shot it foward. As Tenshi flew spinning, Zuguri leaped into the air, and held out his palms.

_Ranton: Reizā Sākasu!_

Beams of light shot from Zuguri's fingers and flew at Kyūketsuki. Instead of drawing his wings, Kyūketsuki flew twoards Zuguri, barely dodging the powerful beams. Obake then gave Kyūketsuki a hard punch, sending him flying twoards a tree. Kyūketsuki slammed against a tree as Zuguri fired more beams of light at him. Kyūketsuki dodged and spread both of his wings outward.

_Fūton: Atsugai!_

Gigantic beams of light formed in Kyūketsuki wings, and a huge, tornado-like mass was released from them and flew tworads the quartet. Obake used another shield to protect himself, but it broke under the tornado's awesome power. Tenshi quickly stood to her feet and pointed a finger at Kyūketsuki.

"Hey! Who do you think you are, using 'Kuzu's moves?"

Kyūketsuki licked his lips. "It wasn't too hard," he said. "Strange how those Konohagakure idiots didn't notice one of my little pets in Kakuzu's morgue."

Tenshi had a bit of a "bond" with Kakuzu. She was one of Kakuzu's "pals" when he was leaving his village. In fact, she was sort of "attracted" to his cheap behavior and money grubbing.

Kyūketsuki was irritated. He needed to get rid of these brats as soon as he could. He remembered the last time someone failed their mission assigned by Sukeruton. Death. That was the punishment. There was a handful of members of the Gyakusatsu who failed to complete their assigned mission. Some of them were his closest friends.

_I'd better finish these fools and grab Takane ASAP._ He thought.

Kyūketsuki pulled out two kunai and threw them at Zuguri. Zuguri easily dodged the attack, but failed to realize that the knives were attached to strings. Kyūketsuki pulled the strings back, tightened his grip and flew at Zuguri. Obake jumped in and attempted a swift jab. Kyūketsuki dodged it and swatted him with his left wing. Obake jumped before he was hit with it, and landed on Kyūketsuki's back.

"Oye! Get offa' me!"  
"I don't think so. It's time that I ended your miserable life. Die!"

Obake pulled out two kunai of his own and jabbed them into Kyūketsuki's back. Kyūketsuki screamed in pain as he dropped to the ground.

"Now, Zuguri!"

Zuguri quickly jumped to Kyūketsuki and prepared to attack.

_Raikiri!_

Zuguri jabbed Kyūketsuki with a lightning blade. Kyūketsuki screamed again, and fell unconscious. Zuguri wiped sweat from his brow. "Sheesh, that was rough."

Tenshi smiled. "Finally, were done! Whew!"  
Takane smirked. "Can we get the _hell_ out of here now?"  
"Fine. Let's go."

As the quartet walked away from their fight, something that they least expected happened.

Kyūketsuki regained consciousness.

As he stood up, he undergoed a transformation. His body grew in size and mass, and gews thick, black hair. He grew large, bat like ears and sharp fangs. He truly became a vampire bat. He let out a sharp shriek.

I'm tired of your games! Prepare to feel the full power of the Gyakusatsu! Prepare to join your fellow Akatsuki in Hell! _Prepare to die!_


	11. The Summoning Part I

The quartet was awestruck. Kyūketsuki transformed into a creature that they had never laid their eyes upon. Obake was the most surprised, as he could sense his chakra.

"Impossible. His chakra, it's..."  
"Over 9000?" Zuguri asked, trying to lighten the mood.  
"…Yes, Zuguri. Far Over 9000."  
"What, 9000! Th-there's no way that can be right!"  
Tenshi snapped. "Would you just shut up already? This is serious! If we don't do something soon, things could get out of hand!"  
"Damn right they will." Kyūketsuki said. The quartet just realized that Kyūketsuki was right behind them. He raised his arm and slashed Tenshi. She flew in the air and hit the ground with a thump. Zuguri charged another Raikiri and attempted to stab Kyūketsuki. Kyūketsuki easily swatted the attack away with one of his huge wings. As his arm went back, Zuguri brought his leg back around trying to kick Kyūketsuki. Once again, the attack was easily avoided with one of Kyūketsuki wings.

"Out of the way, you guys!" Obake yelled. "I'm going to send this fool straight to the other world!"

_Meiton! Kuro Kaminari!_

A dark streak of lightning shot out from the sky. Kyūketsuki noticed the attack, and covered himself with his wings. The lightning hit him, and a gigantic cloud of smoke was created.

_Now!_

Obake slapped his palms together, creating a fiery explosion. As the smoke cleared, the entire quartet could not believe what they saw.

Kyūketsuki was in the same position, without a scratch. He smirked, and opened his wings in swift movement, blowing away small embers still left in the area.

"My turn."

Kyūketsuki flew up into the air and extended his wings. A dark force seemed to overcome him as he let out a piercing shriek. He then dove at the quartet. As he started to spin, a dark tornado formed around him. He charged at them, sending all of them flying. Tenshi drew her sword again, and it extended. She tried to stab Kyūketsuki with it, but he was easily able to lean to the right and dodge it completely. He then held out his arm sideways, and dark energy flowed through it. By concentrating all of his dark chakra on his palm, he shot it at Zuguri. The attack went right through him, creating a serious wound in his stomach. He hit the ground and groaned in pain.

"Zuguri!" Yelled Tenshi.  
"Time to finish this delinquent!" Yelled Kyūketsuki.

All Tenshi could do was watch as Kyūketsuki dove straight down to Zuguri, ready to kill him with one last blow. As he dove, he saw a dark shadow from the corner of his eye.

_Meiton! Dākushunaidā!_

A dark beam shot out from the trees. It hit Kyūketsuki, and he hit a tree before sliding lazily toward the ground. The dark shadow jumped to the ground, revealing itself.

It was Bakiri.

"Sup."

******************************************

A bleeding shadow jumped through tall trees away from a destroyed battlefield. He looked back.

_Good. They're not following. They must have left a while ago. I forgot that my resurrection technique leaves me heavily wounded._

The man felt calm. Though he lost the fight, he still had the energy to return back to his master. As he jumped, he stopped on a large branch. He could not believe his eyes. There, standing on a branch in front of him, was Yuki. She smirked.

"Well, well. Long time no see, Rikugun. Losing that fight must have hit you hard."

Rikugun breathed heavily.

"I may be injured now, but I still have enough energy to take you down all by myself."  
"Really." Yuki ignited her fingertips. "I would be happy to see you try."

Rikugun drew out a sword.

"Time to die, little girl."

******************************************

A heavily damaged Zuguri smirked as he lay on the ground.

"You could have come sooner."  
Tenshi wrapped her arms around Bakiri's neck. "Bakiri-kun!~"

An angered Ino emerged from the trees.

"Get off of my Baraki-kun, Shi no Tenshi!" She yelled.  
"I found him first!"  
"Oh, that's bull!"

Obake placed a hand on Bakiri's shoulder. "Thanks for coming. As you can see, we have a bit of a problem over here… well, two problems, actually."

Bakiri turned to Ino, busy fighting with Tenshi. Ino noticed, and nodded. She went over to Zuguri and began to heal him. As she did, Zuguri remembered something important.

"You guys, I have some news."  
"What?"  
"Konohagakure is beginning a search for Ino."  
"So they finally found out."

Obake smirked. "Sorry to bother you guys, but we have a bigger problem right now." He said, nodding to Kyūketsuki, who was getting up after being slammed into a tree. He looked up at Bakiri and Ino.

"N-no. Impossible! Rikugun should have finished you!"  
"Not so much." Said Bakiri. "We have someone else to do that for us."  
Kyūketsuki's widened his eyes. "Who?"  
"You don't need to know. All you need to know is that you're going to die, right here and now."

Bakiri removed the glove on his right hand, and bit his thumb.

_Kuchiyose! Kurai kiri no fukurou_

Bakiri slammed his hand onto the ground. A gigantic cloud of smoke appeared, and a Great Horned Owl emerged from the smoke. The owl opened his wings.

"What can I do for you, Master Bakiri?"


End file.
